Michael Spice | |
|---|---|
| Born | Michael William Spice 20 May 1931 |
| Died | 2 November 1983 (aged 52) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Notable work | Doctor Who |
Michael Spice (20 May 1931 – 2 November 1983) was a British character actor who appeared in television roles.
Career
[edit]Educated at Beckenham Grammar School, Spice aspired to become an actor after watching a performance of Peter Pan at the Grand Theatre in Croydon as a boy.[1] Graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art during the summer of 1953, he immediately began his career by landing a chorus job in The Glorious Days at the Palace Theatre in the West End. This was followed by joining the Ipswich Arts Theatre for 15 months, acting as assistant stage manager with small roles then moving to stage manager with bigger roles.[2] Afterwards, he played small parts in John Gielgud's touring revivals of Much Ado About Nothing and King Lear plus understudied the male lead in Peter Ustinov's comedy Romanoff and Juliet at Piccadilly Theatre, as well as Robert Eddison in Henrik Ibsen's Little Eyolf at the Lyric Theatre (Hammersmith).[2][3] Further excursions led to other places including Coventry,[4] Margate, Hull and Leatherhead.[5]
On TV, Spice portrayed two Doctor Who villains, the voice of Morbius in The Brain of Morbius,[6] and Weng-Chiang / Magnus Greel in The Talons of Weng-Chiang.[7] Other screen roles included minor characters in A Countess from Hong Kong,[8] The Brothers, Public Eye and Blake's 7.
More of a prolific radio actor Spice made over 1000 broadcasts.[9] He played the character of Peter Tyson in the BBC Radio play The Ropewalk in January 1969.[10] The play evolved into the long-running BBC Radio 2 serial Waggoners' Walk, in which Basil Moss took over the role of Peter Tyson, with Spice taking the role of Matt Prior, a role he played until the serial's end in May 1980.[11] Another memorable contribution was voicing Háma and a Nazgûl in the BBC Radio 4 1981 dramatisation of J. R. R Tolkien's three-part epic novel The Lord of the Rings.
References
[edit]- ^ "Return visit". Eastbourne Herald. 21 February 1958. p. 8. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
- ^ a b "'Pro'file No. 101—Michael Spice". Eastbourne Herald. 29 November 1958. p. 12. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
- ^ "Show Gossip". Hastings & St Leonards Observer. 12 April 1958. p. 5. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
- ^ "Midland Theatre Co. is Back in Coventry". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 29 August 1956. p. 9. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
- ^ Rigby, Jonathan (August 2025). "Devils in Disguise". Doctor Who Magazine Special Edition. No. 70, Gothic Horror. Tunbridge Wells: Panini UK Ltd. p. 45.
- ^ Mulkern, Patrick (27 July 2010). "The Brain of Morbius". Radio Times. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
- ^ "The Talons of Weng Chiang – Episode Guide". BBC. Archived from the original on 9 December 2006. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
- ^ "A Countess from Hong Kong (1967)". BFI. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016.
- ^ "Obituaries". The Stage. 24 November 1983. p. 10. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
- ^ "Saturday-Night Theatre: The Ropewalk". BBC Genome Project. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
- ^ "Waggoners' Walk". BBC Genome Project. Archived from the original on 27 October 2014. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
External links
[edit]- Michael Spice at IMDb
- Michael Spice at Theatricalia
- Michael Spice at British Film Institute